The Mandela Effect has gone mainstream. Now that the internet is buzzing with wild theories and new examples every day, it's time to go over where the ideas originated, and consider in detail what exactly might be causing it.
The Thinker
- Carter Tweed 0 Comments
Here's something to ponder - has his pose changed?
MMDE: Closed fist on forehead
Current: Open hand on chin
Did Rodin's famous "The Thinker" sculpture always have his open hand on his chin, or was it a closed fist on his forehead?
There are many people who remember him with the closed first on his forehead. As a test, next time you talk to someone unaware of this Mass Memory Discrepancy Effect ask them to make the famous Thinker pose - chances are, they'll do the fist-forehead one.
Few people realise there were many copies of the sculpture, the most famouse being Le Penseur in the Musée Rodin in Paris. Begun in 1880, The Thinker was initially a figure in a large commission for a doorway surround called The Gates of Hell, and Rodin based this on Dante's Divine Comedy.
Representing philosophy, one can only wonder what he'd make of all the controversy surrounding his pose over a century after his creation...
You like Sally Field?
- Carter Tweed 0 Comments
"You like me, you really like me!"
MMDE: You like me, you really like me
Current: You like me right now
Sally Field's famous quote has been parodied many times on the internet - it's moved well into the "meme" category now, like "beam me up, Scotty". However, those experiencing the Mass Memory Discrepancy Effect are sure they remember her saying it at her Oscar acceptance speech. She even went on to parody herself a couple of years later, but the original shows her just saying "you like me right now".
There's an interesting theory that all actors and actresses want to be remembered, no matter what the reason. So, if something they did gets misquoted and ends up getting a life of its own, they will "bandwaggon" it to maximize their exposure from it, even up to the point where they know it was incorrect but just want to milk the publicity from it.
Accidental PR is PR all the same...
Andrew Zimmerman
- Simon Magnuson 0 Comments
Andrew Zimmerman's Bizarre Foods?
MMDE: Zimmerman
Current: Zimmern
There are many references today on the internet to Android Zimmerman being the host of Bizarre Foods, yet the reality is he was called Android Zimmern.
Sometimes the Mass Memory Discrepancy Effect can be the result of people not paying enough attention when something else comes up which has some common element, and the two become conflated in peoples minds. It's almost as if they partly remember most, but not all, of the details and when "filling in the blanks" the missing part turns out to be wrong, because its from a different event. When Bizarre Foods was popular, George Zimmerman was in the news too.
Could the confusion just be a result of a mispronunciation of Andrews unusual surname whilst George was all over the news too?
The 6 Village People
- Carter Tweed 0 Comments
And then there were 6
MMDE: There were 5
Current: There were 6
How many Village People were there, and for bonus points can you name them? Well, their characters anyway. Did that include "Army Man"? Many people are suprised to find there are 6, since they were sure there were only 5 - are they experiencing the Mass Memory Discrepancy Effect?
Most people only remember the YMCA song and all its gyrations they perform at drunken weddings and parties. Some would even say there are only 4 members, just because of this song.
Also, there have been several line up changes over the years, so this could be causing confusion regarding the actual member count and character list.
The Lindbergh Baby
- Carter Tweed 0 Comments
The Lindbergh Baby was never found?
MMDE: The Lindbergh Baby was never found
Current: The Lindbergh Baby was found
The terrible "crime of the century" happened in 1932 in New Jersey when the eldest son of the aviator Charles Lindbergh was abducted from his family home.
When you read todays reports of this, you see the baby was found dead 2 months later and Richard Hauptmann was executed for the crime, yet those experiencing the Mass Memory Discrepancy Effect claim the baby was never found.
It's always possible these people somehow missed the news at the time, but when they see all the reports of his discovery they find the mismatch between that and their memory pretty disconcerting.
Muhammad Ali "died years before 2016"
- Carter Tweed 0 Comments
The Ali Effect?
MMDE: Muhammad Ali died in 1991
Current: Muhammad Ali died in 2016
2016 was a horrible year for losing famous celebrities, including Muhammad Ali. It was even more disturbing for those who were sure he'd already died years earlier, because they were experiencing the Mass Memory Discrepancy Effect.
This is similar to the Mandela, Fidel Castro etc situations with one difference - it seems the year 1991 plays some role in this, as in most of those who thought he was already dead were born after this year.
He had quite a high profile after this time too - he appeared at the 2012 Olympic Ceremony, etc.
His health problems with Parkinsons was also widely publicised, mainly because it was attributed to his stellar boxing career. Yet he still managed the odd public appearance right up to the end, just like Nelson Mandela did. How did those shocked by his death manage to miss every single one of them?
Where is New Zealand?
- Carter Tweed 0 Comments
New Zealand moved with no-one noticing?
MMDE: North East of Australia
Current: South East of Australia
As far-fetched as it sounds, some experiencing the Mass Memory Discrepancy Effect claim New Zealand has moved.
These people remember it being North East of Australia, whereas maps today show it as South East. A few references exist to it being in the "old" location, including the usual authoritative ones such as The Simpsons, yet most show it South East.
People are also saying they remember Australia being much further South - away from Indonesia - than it appears today. Were all the old maps just wrong?
